COSTA MESA, Calif. — After falling in yesterday's contests, both Vanguard University and Hope International University stepped onto Dean Harvey Field with hopes of living to see another game in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. Hope International grabbed hold of the lead first, but the Pride's quiet and persistent patience rolled on. Despite trailing the majority of the game, the Blue and Gold quietly kindled a fire under their offense, and roared to life in the eighth. Sam Neufeld (JR/Indio, CA), who had been a game-changer in the last few regular season games, once again changed the tone of the game at a much needed moment in the contest, which had to be decided in extra innings. Unfortunately for Vanguard, their comeback was cut short in the eleventh inning, causing their tournament run to come to a close with the 7-6 loss to the GSAC foe.

"We fought really well," Neufeld said. "We were down for most of the game and things weren't going our way, but we found a way to get things going again and found ourselves back in it. Things don't always end up the way you want them to, but we put up a good fight. We gave it our all and left it all on the field."

Hope took hold of the lead on a two-out rally in the top of the third inning and extended their lead to 4-0 in the fourth. Vanguard got a word in during the bottom of the frame, taking a page out of HIU's book, and pulled out one run with two outs on board. Shane Elias-Calles (SR/Mission Viejo, CA) scored the inning's lone run on a RBI single hit to deep center field by Kody Wright (JR/Bakersfield, CA). Neufeld fouled out to end the inning, but would redeem himself in the eighth. The score stood at 4-1 in favor of the Royals until Neufeld, who was met with two runners on and two outs on board, ricocheted a triple off the wall in left field. Elias-Calles and Michael Fuchs (SR/Irvine, CA) hit back to back singles, while Joe Johnson (FR/Medford, OR) and Wright went down on a respective sac-bunt and foul out. The pair scored on Neufeld's hefty hit, and the Lions found themselves within one run of HIU. With Neufeld in scoring position and two outs on board, Lucas Martinez (SR/Fairfax, VA) connected with the pitch for the game-tying single that erupted both the Lions dugout and the crowd.

"It was my third time seeing the same pitcher, and he had already thrown me two balls," Neufeld said of his hit. "I had a hacking mentality and got ready for the fastball, and he gave it to me."

Nine innings was not enough to decide the game winner, and neither was 10 as the score remained locked at four runs a piece until the top of the eleventh. An unfortunate series of walks put runners on base and forced a pitching change on the Lions' end. Alex Camacho (JR/Stockton, CA) made his tournament debut and closed the contest on the mound. This time, HIU took a page from Vanguard's book and tripled to score one runner, and followed up with a two RBI single for insurance. In the bottom of the frame, Tanner Perry (SR/El Cajon, CA) was walked to lead of the inning, and Elias-Calles flied out. Fuchs made sure the outfield stayed busy and sent a ball soaring to right field for the sac-fly that scored Perry. Johnson and Rivera were both walked before Neufeld was due up. Neufeld was met with two outs and two on for the second time in the game, and delivered a single to third to score Josh Weeks (SO/Murrieta, CA). Martinez managed to drive a hit to short and shot off to first, but the throw beat him to the base, securing the game for the Royals.

Vanguard tallied 16 hits on the day, with four coming from Fuchs' 4-for-5 performance at the plate. Neufeld and Elias-Calles went 3-for-6 on the game, while Perry, Weeks, Martinez and Chad Sutton (FR/Scottsdale, AZ) chipped in with one hit a piece. Schuyler Hill (JR/Long Beach, CA) pitched a full five innings, gave up five hits, walked six and threw three strikeouts. Ryan Daugherty (JR/Laguna Niguel, CA) made an appearance in the sixth inning and lasted 5.1 innings. Daugherty put three strikeouts and four walks in the books before Camacho took his place in the eleventh.

-GOLD PRIDE-